Ethan Vernon made it two stage wins in two stages at the Tour of Slovakia. After taking out the prologue ahead of teammates Josef Cerny and Michael Mørkøv, Vernon was led expertly to the finale of stage 1 in Trnava where he out-sprinted Astana's Gleb Syritsa.
The stage win extended the Briton's lead in the race to 17 seconds over Cerny and 25 on Mørkøv.
“It was the first day of my career in the leader’s jersey and I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. We wanted a bunch sprint today and the guys made sure we’d have one. They were the only ones pulling and rode incredibly today," Vernon said.
"In the final kilometers the speed they pushed was so high that nobody could pass us, so this is their victory. I knew I was in good form after the prologue and I’m happy with this win. Keeping yellow tomorrow will be very difficult, but I will give my best."
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